


After the Party

by notjustmom



Series: Sherlock Christmas Ficlets 2017 [22]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Christmas, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 12:47:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13100433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notjustmom/pseuds/notjustmom
Summary: prompt 22: Party time / Under the tree





	After the Party

**Author's Note:**

> A non-Adler Christmas...

Sherlock closed the door with relief, Greg and Molly finally left together arm in arm, nicely - what was the word - after a moment of thought, he shook his head.

"We never have to do that again, right?"

John laughed from his chair. "Not til next year."

"Wait. Oh. Noooo. This is not going to become a thing. 'Christmas at 221B' is not a thing. John?" Sherlock strode purposely over to his chair and glared at John's smiling face, then rolled his eyes as he flopped into his chair. "Why didn't - uhm - Sarah. No - not the one with the spots - the boring teacher - Jean...ette come? I thought you two had 'BIG PLANS' for the holiday."

"Called her by the wrong name last week."

"When?" Sherlock sat up and leaned closer to John.

"You know - when -"

"Oh."

"What name did you..." Sherlock looked closely at his friend and went blank for a moment. "You -"

"Yours. When I -"

Sherlock bit his lip and wasn't sure whether to apologise or throw another party. "John."

John shrugged and took another sip of his drink. "I - she told me I was a very good boyfriend and that you were a very lucky man."

"She didn't." Sherlock whispered.

"Hmm. To be honest. I - have a confession to make."

Sherlock waited.

"I keep going on dates, because I keep hoping I'll meet someone as brilliant and funny and breathtakingly gorgeous as you, but it isn't really fair on them, because I already know they won't be anything close to what, who you are."

"John."

"I'm not - I've never - I had chances in Afghanistan - but I -" He shrugged and finished his drink then put it down carefully. "I'm not really a casual kind of person, I do care about the people I go out with, and we have fun, but then I come home to you, and I - know I'll never want to be anywhere else, with anyone else. I know - I know you aren't interested in - and if it bothers you that I have feelings for you -"

Sherlock finally understood what it meant to watch one's heart move outside one's body as John slowly got to his feet. "John?"

"No, it's okay - I just thought you should know."

"Wait. Please. I - can you -"

John took a breath and met Sherlock's eyes, then nodded. 

"Sit, please? This is - complicated - for me, please?"

John sat. 

"At Angelo's. I knew what you were asking. I didn't think you could honestly - and you didn't know me - my past - and I was -"

"Take a breath, Sherlock." 

Sherlock nodded and tried to breathe normally. "I've - in Uni - people figured out - that I was lonely and was happy to help them with their studies, just to have someone to talk to - and sometimes it led to - I fell in love a couple of times, both attempts ended badly, they weren't experiments, I really thought - and I swore I wouldn't - I believed Mycroft was right, that sentiment just made life harder, so I trained myself not to want or need people - and then I met you. And I still don't know why, I don't understand - but - that night, after our first case - at dinner. If you had asked me again - I would have had a different answer, but you didn't, you - we had a good night, we had fun, and it didn't hurt, and I thought it would be enough. And it was, it has been, but then there was Sarah, and the one with the spots and the boring teacher - and I wondered what was wrong with me - that you didn't - so I - keep waiting for you to tell me you have met 'her' and that you are going to leave me. And I -"

John shook his head. "I - god, I'm so sorry, Sherlock. I - I've never been good at this kind of thing. Feelings. I - early on, I understood that having emotions, caring about people just ended up - can we - start over? I don't want to date anyone, unless that person is you, if you would like to try with me? I can't promise you anything, but I do know I don't ever want to leave you. I don't know if that's enough -"

Sherlock got up from his chair and walked over to the tree, picked up a package and slowly made his way over to John and knelt in front of him. "When you were working last week, I got bored, and threw on my coat, and went for a walk, ended up going into this antique store, mostly it was just junk - but then I started looking through the books, and I found this - it's a memoir of a doctor in Victoria's time - and he wrote of his friendship with a scientist, somewhat like myself, and I - yes, John. I'd very much like to start over."

John took the neatly wrapped package from Sherlock's trembling fingers and laid it aside, then looked into Sherlock's eyes and nodded as he gently reached out to touch his bottom lip with a single finger. "What do you want, Sherlock? Tell me?"

"I want everything, John. Only with you. Just you."

John moved closer and Sherlock took a deep breath then placed both of his large hands in John's hair, and kissed him softly, cautiously, at first, then instinct and memory and finally his heart cracked open and took over.

"Damn." John whispered against his lips.

"Yeah." Sherlock muttered back, then a giggle escaped and Sherlock collapsed into John's arms.

"We've been idiots."

"First class morons."

"My room or yours?"

"Mine is closer and warmer."

John pulled back and pushed a curl from Sherlock's eyes. "Merry Christmas, Sherlock."

"Merry Christmas, John."


End file.
